Bro, I'm not an Undead!

BA-DUM!

BA-DUM!

BA-DUM!

The <HEART> beat with vigorous intensity within the body of the Discount Human, Sila feeling a grand rush of excitement from having a body again!

One that didn't experience pain!

One that didn't have the hideous downsides of a natural body!

This was perfect.

The [HYPE] blood cells within the cosmetic body started to glow, multiplying rapidly and colliding with each other as they produced a strange form of energy that gave flesh a wild sense of drive for activity!

The skill [HYPED] was in effect, following the sheer joy that Sila was experiencing, giving the boon of him experiencing everything at ten times the norm!

'What a waste! All this power and you squander it, barely using it to its fullest capacity, tomato flinger. Hmmm. Still, I must commend what you have achieved in such a short amount of time. However, I shall do much, much MORE!' Sila thought as he looked on ahead.

He was blind at this point, no longer being able to see anything but in exchange, his other senses were bolstered greatly and his spatial awareness was incredible to the say the least.

With his feet on the ground, he could ascertain the shapes of everything attached to it, feeling motions and sensations through his skin which had already become sensitive following the upgrade of [Flesh It Like You Mean It].

But of course, this wasn't enough.

There was something else that we could use to make the detriment brought by his lost sight very much worth it.

His feet kicked away the darkened snow and dirt, revealing something other than Demion's Dance which he had hidden in the snow after extracting it from the spatial ring.

The Elimparidis Stone Staff!

This was a planned ploy he had made before he lost his mana core and after this and Demion's Dance, there was one other...

Sila flicked the staff with his foot and bit on it, the staff now wielded from his mouth.

The moment this occurred, the cosmetic body which now didn't possess a core with the dry mana channels that ran from the now void place at the base of his abdomen thirsting for energy, lightened up, the mana from the staff connecting itself to the Discount Human body!

10,000 Mana Points were at Sila's disposal now!

Under normal circumstances, unless a magical item had skills that it could cast on its own, an individual without a core couldn't use the mana it had for their own convenience.

However, because the Elimparidis Stone Staff was a high tier natural treasure with absolute conversion, burning past the weaknesses of weak artefacts was too easy!

This was something the Tower General had accounted for following his absorption of all of Skullius' memories his mind whipping out different plans for attack in seconds!

Sila felt the mana channels in the body burn with power and immediately took action.

[Great Saint's Invigoration!]

[Elevated Mana Manipulation!]

Two skills gained the fuel for functionality, Sila's arm which had exploded before regenerating while a vast pool of mana flooded the area over hundreds of meters!

The Tower General found his ability to trace through everything within the area vastly easier and more intricate as with his mana swiping over all objects, he could identify everything that could have been missed by his alternate senses on land and in the air!

This was it!

The true 'vision' needed by the warrior!

Demion's Dance which had fallen after the cosmetic arm exploded from the power released was picked up again as Sila watched his enemy emerge from the distance.

Bek had a more serious look to him now.

He had been fast enough to dodge the insane sword slash but this had just served to make him recognise how much of a problem this man before him was going to be.

He turned to Skullius who was in the air, palpable waves of rage and fear flooding his Projected form.

"He's using your abilities right? I'll need you to tell me the ones I should look out for the most. Including the one he just used to push me away," Bek said.

Strangely though, Skullius looked at the man with a look of confusion.

"What? I can't understand what you're sayin- Oh, damn it!" Skullius said, recalling midway through the sentence that his means for communication, [Greater Communication I] had been sacrificed!

Bek also looked at Skullius' figure with narrow eyes, realising that he couldn't understand the language to floating Projected figure was speaking.

"Well, isn't this mighty perfect!" Bek said before feeling a chill on his back, his head quickly turning to the left where a figure had flashed to, staff at the teeth with Demion's Dance, the dreaded sword leaving a white trail as it cut through the air at a mad speed!

Bek's eyes shot opened as he ducked with even greater speed and....

SHIIIIIIIIING!

BBBBBBOOOOM!

The world almost lost colour as total decimation followed everything behind Bek, including the dark snow with callous cruelty!

The former Knight's body regained its pale blue cover like a surge of controlled energy and with ridiculous speed, Bek launched several jab punches to Sila's face!

The Tower General felt the mana and exotic energy brimming within them, each with the capability to blow his torso into a mince factory with ease and to stop such a thing from becoming an eventuality, Sila activated the newly formed skill [Revered]!

An opposing force immediately roared from body wrestling against Bek but this time, he was expecting it.

'There it is again!' Bek thought.

Opposite him, Sila was expecting him to expect this, knowing full well that it might not be successful!

Thus the force emitted by [Revered] only managed to slow down Bek's punches, allowing for Sila to dodge, his movement rippling with after-images that showed how efficiently every bit of his expanded stats were being used!

'He's become much faster. No, its more than just that. It could be his blade amplifying his power... especially when considering that earlier sword attack...' Bek thought as he drew back, his hand reaching into his pocket to retrieve a small navy blue cube.

His mana flowed into it, a light streaking out of it to reveal two objects.

Rapiers!

Bek held them both in his right hand, their thin, shiny, silver blades resting in-between his fingers.

The rapiers had sky blue, cone-shaped guards with outward bulging dotted patterns over them.

The former Knight held a rapier in either of his hands and swished them through the air.

After he was done feeling them out...

"Sera. Come," he said in a low tone of voice, the pale blue energy around him growing bright, reforming the creature that had been around him before.

This time however, it appeared not with a hazy image, but a rather clear one, its distinct appearance with the different halves becoming more vivid.

The pale side which was hideous had long hair, its appearance wild as if someone had violently ruffled it, a face with lanky, droopy skin that formed layers below a hollow eye socket being seen.

The other half had a face with supple, youthful skin and pink lips, a beautiful blue eye with shiny twinkles like those of stars swimming within it.

"Bek..." a sonorous voice with recurring echoes following after it sounded came from the creature whose lower half faded into a ghostly tail.

"Split for me," Bek said.

With his words, to everyone's shock, the spirit behind him pulled itself apart, the hideous side and the beautiful one being torn to form two parts that swiftly darted into the two rapiers that Bek held!

'Ugh...' Skullius grunted inwardly.

Sila grinned without a care.

"A LOVER, IS IT? YOU TWO BRING A WHOLE DIFFERENT MEANING TO THE WORD COMPLICATED," he taunted, the words barely coming out comprehensible with his teeth biting the staff.

"It IS complicated," Bek said, a luminous pale glow tinting his rapiers.

On top of this, a neon golden orange light exploded from Bek, causing a thunderous rumble on the ground!

...!

'Genuine Incarnation,' Sila thought with a scoff.

The light formed two revolving rings with floral patterns over both of the cone-shaped guards on the rapiers, a harsh outline elegantly highlighting Bek's body with his raw power increasing by a staggering amount that far exceeded that of Full Body Aura!

"This should be enough to cut down an arrogant soul like you, shouldn't it?" Bek said, the pale blue glow over the blades of his rapiers brightly flashing!

"A SPIRIT CANNOT HELP YOU ESCAPE DEATH. THEY ARE NOTHING BUT LIES THAT REALITY TELLS TO THE LIVING TO QUELL THEIR FEAR OF THE INEVITABLE!" Sila boldly declared through his clenched teeth, a broad ridiculing grin plastered on his face as he raised Demion's Dance.

His first strategy for victory was proving ineffective.

The skill [Epic Memory] form Demion's Dance which currently only allowed the user to borrow a fraction of the strength of Demion along with his sword technique was the one he was using to produce such devastating slashes.

With his strengthened body, born from the sacrifice of a mana core, he could perfectly coordinate and effectively use every bit of his new speed and strength to draw more strength from the sword!

Furthermore, with [Revered], the evolved version of [Untouched], a skill he had learn and fashioned after the battle with the Monkey Sages who used a similar skill to mitigate damage to their bodies, he could limit the potency of Bek's attack and even disallow him from reaching within his range.

Admittedly, he had never used it before.

(A/N: Refer to Ch.212)

~~~

[Revered | Lv.1]

Call upon a repulsive force that draws away living and non-living targets depending on the level of mana they possess. An addition of 1800 Mana Points may be used to select a single target to keep away for a 5 minute duration.

-Caution-

Difference in strength between user and opponent affects the skill.

Mana Requirements: 800

Duration: ---

Cooldown: 30 seconds

~~~

The aforementioned strategy could be rendered ineffective now that Bek had used his Genuine Incarnation, becoming stronger as a result.

And surely...

FWOOSH!

The brilliant figure of Bek with his rapiers burst behind Sila who was mid blink, the weapon in the former Knight's right hand vibrating with an astonishing frequency that made a terrible ringing noise!

WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!

Sila had only barely started to realise that there was an enemy behind him when his entire body was blasted with the vibration!

...!

"Urgh..." Sila grunted as he felt the vicious quivering wave affect him, sweeping away the snow while make everything in his body, including his soul shiver!

No!

It wasn't merely shivering!

It was...

As Sila's soul trembled, he felt something off!

'Is he trying to break down my soul?!' Sila thought as he truly felt the integrity of the piece of soul dwindle, and entire ethereal structure starting to....fragment!

Bek didn't stop there, as with his left hand, he slashed down with his other rapier, the incomparable might that thundered down on Sila crushing his body and soul into the ground with a screeching noise that emanated from the weapon!

SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

The noise was so unbearable that blood flooded from the cosmetic body's orifices, the legs getting smashed down as bones and tissue burst apart, half of Sila's body becoming anything but solid!

Sila felt his soul start to emit flakes, his face tearing apart even before the rapier had actually made contact and yet...

'HAHAHAHA! HOW BRUTAL!' he thought, the blood rushing through him making sure that he took in each play of this scene!

Right before the rapier stomped him into oblivion however...

FWSH!

Sila appeared a distance away, his body rolling as a blood mess stained the snow.

Without elapsing even three seconds, Sila used [Great Saint's Invigoration]'s active effect to immediately heal every part of his body, his new feet steadily standing on the snowy ground.

The moment he raised his head though, the point of a rapier was already touching the skin of his forehead, a dismantling screech exploding from the sword!

And yet...

SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!

With a swift movement and horrendous speed as well as power, Demion's Dance slashed through the air, striking at Bek's rapier!

PWAAAAAA!

The collision of a weapon meant to deliver death and a Spirit infused rapier with the strengthening of a Genuine Incarnation ensued, the chaotic rupturing of air, the ground and the mana around following it!

Skullius rose up, escaping the devastation that completely devoured the entire area, the remnants of the woodland included!

'This is ridiculous!' Skullius thought as he watched the darkening of the snow proliferate while an intense vibration broke down matter outside the range of a blast that obscured what was happening next!

Within the chaotic hurricane of dark snow and dirt, Sila's body looked shredded but it was intact, his hand regenerating from having exploded once more and yet the aged soul still grinned!

He looked at Bek who was just now, steadying himself after being blown away by the enormous force but without damage over his body.

'Let's move on to this...' Sila thought, his hand swiping over the hilt of Demion's Dance to its pommel and then to beyond!

As he did this, a chain of darkness... of [Evil Darkness] was created, linking Demion's Dance's pommel to something that was still buried under the layer of sandy snow a distance away...

The final piece that Sila had prepared beforehand from one of his strategies...!